Marinated Squash, Asparagus/Spinch/Garbanzo Salad, Bean-Broccoli Soup and more...

Marinated Winter Squash
I got this one from the Lidia Bastianich show Lidia's Kitchen on PBS the other day.  She serves the dish at room temperature, but you can warm the dish a bit as well; we did.

1 Butternut or other winter squash cut into 1/2" thin slices
1 cup Apple Cider or White Vinegar
1 Tbsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
6 cloves Garlic, peeled & sliced
1 Tbsp EVOO
Vegetable Oil for Frying
Fresh Basil leaves for garnish

For the marinade
Combine vinegar, sugar and 1/4 tsp of salt in a sauce pan.  Simmer on high heat until reduced by half.  Drop in the garlic, remove from heat, and cool.  Stir in the EVOO.

For the squash
Slice the squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds.  Then cut into half-rounds 1/2" thick (or slightly less) and peel.

Fry the squash in veggie oil for 3-4 minutes per side until forkable, crispy and caramelized. Drain on paper towels.  Dust with a bit of salt while the squash are hot and vulnerable.

Layer squash  into a serving bowl, adding basil leaves and a splash of marinade to each layer.  Cover and let marinate at least 3 hours to overnight before serving.

Asparagus, Spinach & Garbanzo Salad
I found the thinnest asparagus I've ever seen at Aldi's the other day.  The big stems weren't more than 3/16" diameter!!  This salad seemed like the perfect thing to do with the 'gus!

1 lb fresh Asparagus -- thinner is better, but any will do.
1 can Garbanzos, drained, rinsed and dried
3-4 handsful of fresh Spinach
2" length of 2" diameter Daikon
1 Red Bell Pepper
2 Shallots, although onion and garlic would work too
Italian Seasoning to taste
Ground Coriander to taste
White Pepper to taste
2 Lemons, juiced

Preheat the oven to 425F

Cut the asparagus into 1" or shorter pieces, toss it with some EVOO in a bowl.  Then spread the pieces on a non-stick baking sheet.

In the same oil bowl, toss the garbanzos with a bit more EVOO.  Spread them on a second baking sheet.

When the oven comes to temp, put the asparagus and garbanzos in and set the timer for 15 or 20 minutes.

Slice the daikon into thick matchsticks (3/16").  Slice the red pepper into thin strips.  Slice the shallots thin.   Reserve all the veg.

Chop the spinach into 1/2" ribbons, then wilt it with some water in the microwave or a skillet.  Spread to cool.  Reserve.

When the asparagus and garbanzos are done, spread them out on paper towels to drain and cool.

In a large bowl, toss all the ingredients together to combine.  Add the spices and toss again.

Serve with lemon wedges for squeezing as a simple dressing.  You could also make a simple lemon vinaigrette, but squeezing lemon quarters in simpler.


White Bean Broccoli Soup
This was one of those "I've got this and I've got that, I wonder what they'd be like together" sort of things.

1 lb dry White Beans
2 large stalks Broccoli
White Pepper
Thyme
Kombu seaweed
Cumin
Coriander
Optional -- a couple shots of Lizano, the Costa Rican "ketchup" found on every restaurant table

Cook the beans according to package directions, with about 3 sq. inches of Kombu snipped into pieces in the water, and a Tablespoon of thyme.  The kombu basically dissolves as the beans cook.  Both seem to help reduce the gas effects of eating beans.

Meanwhile chop up the broccoli florets and steam them.  Reserve some tiny florets for garnish.

When the beans are done, put about half of them and half the steamed broccoli in your food processor and take it for a whirrrrr.  Add water as necessary to get the puree process going.

Put the puree in with the whole beans & broccoli, and add the other spices to taste.

We discovered by accent while eating leftovers, that, of all things,  a shot of Lizano sauce in the soup really kicks thing up a notch or to!!!  I wouldn't add it to the pot, but serve the Lizano alongside the soup.

Well, the soup was certainly tasty enough.  But MAKE SURE YOU HAVE PLENTY OF BEANO ON HAND. It didn't bother me much at all, but someone had a lot of gas...


Mum's Birthday
Sally's Mum turned XX (never ask a woman her age), so for Sunday Brunch I made a 9 Gem Korma style curry with brown rice, and a Mango Upside Down Spice Cake with a side of  Mango FroYo.

Nine Gem Korma
"Nine Gems" refers to "nine ingredients".  In this case, cubed Rutabaga, Purple Potato, Yam, diced Onion, Almonds, Raisins, Red Bell Pepper, Yellow Bell Pepper, and Yellow Tomato.  The ingredients are braised together with broth, yoghurt, or water and spices.

For this dish, the spice I used was the classic Garam Masala -- a slightly sweet, medium hot blend of coriander, cumin, cloves, black pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Other additions can include turmeric, fennel seed,  ginger, mustard seed, tamarind and star anise.  You can make your own, but it's easiest just to buy it at your megamart or an Indian Grocery.  I used about 2 Tbsp in this whole dish.  You can use more, if you like, of course.

Korma is a curry with a relatively thick sauce.  So once the 9 Gems are cooked, you can thicken the sauce with additional yogurt, a bit of flour, or just cook it down a bit like I did.  My sauce was a bit thin, but we were hungry!


Mango UpsideDown Spice Cake w/Mango FroYo
You've read my description of Mango Upside Down cake recently for Sally's birthday.  Also my recipe for making Mango FroYo.

This time I made a larger cake and I used Spice Cake mix rather than Gingerbread.  The Spice Cake mix is still head and shoulders better than pretty much anything, but not as rich as Gingerbread cake.

The cake turned out better this time.  I think for Sally's cake I had too much of the sugar syrup...